I am specialized in documentary photography. There is several way to capture your family, and posing isn’t my thing. If it’s yours, good for you, but I won’t be any help!

What is documentary family photography?

Documenting a family is telling a story of your daughter, your son, your spouse. Storytelling is the main focus for a documentary family photographer.

What is storytelling? I really love the definition of story.org : “Storytelling involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. The responses of the listeners influence the telling of the story. In fact, storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of teller and audience.” This is not just me taking pictures. You need to trust me, to know me. And I’m just the same, I need to know you to be able to photograph who you are on an ordinary day.

Why should you choose documentary family photography?

Kids will be kids right? And that’s what I love about them. Once they are familiar with a camera around, they just are.

They stop being self aware of the camera and they stay themselves. Trying to pose a 2 year-old could be just a torture for her or him, the parents and the photographer. So going with documentary photography will make strong and candid photographs of you and your family.

How documentary family photography differs from lifestyle ?

Lifestyle is one moment, a short and flying moment. We choose a background, your clothes, maybe even directing a little. Documenting has barely any directing. For a one-hour session, maybe I will provide some direction while still leaving your family play and be itself in your house, or in a place that means something for your family. For a Day in the life session, there is no posing, no direction. Just me and my camera, capturing candid moment that will still happen if I wasn’t here.

You can contact your documentary family photographer in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland : natasha.lamalle@gmail.com. You can look at my portfolio here.